Is It Time For Randomized Ad hoc Trials; Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin, Remdesivir etc?
Note: If in a hurry, only read the last paragraph!
The medical field is highly regulated. It is not easy to introduce our drugs into the market. Some herbal cures are mostly ridiculed despite their proven value or cure. The question is: Was hydroxychloroquine proven to be of use without randomized double blinded studies, or any other mainstream research methodology?
Let me not bore anybody with any statistical details, research methods, drug trials, drug approvals and drug dosing etc. However it is important to note that whenever mass deaths are imminent, there is no harm in being scientifically unorthodox. A drowning man clutches on straw: This might be the time for a randomized ad hoc trials in medical settings.
There is no harm in creation of various cohorts for that purpose coz we are dealing with a fatal rapidly progressive illness. The infection rates are phenomenal. Therefore within this context, the current preliminary Covid-19 overall fatality rate of about 4.5% causes so much pain coz it means many deaths. Its economic repercussion is worse, and might linger for real long. Further, Covid-19 is not leaving soon! The Bell’s curve will be hit, but shall be repeated over time, albeit with lesser human consequences in the future.
Therefore, once we have observed all the stipulated preventive measures but still fallen victims of the infection, and being critically sick, it is not enough to assume that supportive measures(hospitalization and nursing) alone will carry the day. There is an emphasis on ventilators for persons critically ill. That is OK, ventilators help, but they are not the panacea. Many are dying on ventilators!
The main point again is the need to be more robust with our cure options. A novel virus with rapid prognosis waits for none, worse if they are “slovens”. A day wasted is a life or lives lost! We will get a vaccine, but we need to save lives right here, right now.
There are many drugs already in the market that might cure Covid-19. Some of these drugs only require a variation of a single moiety! Some of them are like aspirin in that it is “one drug for many diseases”. As for the lay public, it is vital that you consult your doctor before self-medicating. Your doctor knows the dosage, the side effects, the drug interactions, the contraindications and much more. Drugs kill! Many countries have drugs freely available as OTC/non-prescription. I think we can save lives by thinking outside the box without increasing the fatality risk levels.